CHICO — Retired Chico Police Chief Kirk Trostle and his wife, Patricia Garrison, a retired elementary school principal, have filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company over the deadly Camp Fire.

The fire destroyed the couple’s home in the southern edge of the town of Paradise. They are alleging the utility’s negligent operation and maintenance of its power lines caused the Camp Fire, which has become the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire ever.

The suit, which names as defendants PG&E Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and unnamed defendants, was filed Friday in Butte County Superior Court.

Trostle, during an interview Thursday at a restaurant in Chico, said PG&E knew its power lines were faulty and displayed “deliberate indifference” to the problem. The utility, he said, needs to be held accountable for its actions.

“No community should have to go through this again,” Trostle said.

Cal Fire has not released a cause of the fire, saying its investigation remains ongoing. PG&E has told this newspaper that the cause of the fire is unknown, but it did experience a power outage about 15 minutes before the fire was reported near Pulga.

According to firefighter radio transmissions reviewed by Bay Area News Group, firefighters were sent about 6:33 a.m. Nov. 8 to a vegetation fire “under the high-tension power lines” across the Feather River from Poe Dam.

PG&E has said it later observed by aerial patrol damage to a transmission tower about a mile northeast of Pulga, in the area of the Camp Fire.

Asked for comment about the lawsuit, PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty issued a written statement.

“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our highest priority. It’s important to remember that the cause has yet to be determined,” it said. “We are aware of lawsuits regarding the Camp Fire. Right now, our primary focus is on supporting the communities and assisting first responders as they work to contain the fire. We are also getting our crews positioned and ready to respond when we get access, so that we can safely restore gas and electricity to our customers.”

Trostle, 54, a Chico State University graduate whose law enforcement career included stints as the chief of police in Chico and Oroville, said PG&E should have known its policies and/or its failure to properly follow policies already in place could have led to a fire like the one that ravaged Paradise and surrounding communities.

According to the complaint, PG&E “repeatedly notified customers in various areas of Butte County, including Paradise, that PG&E was considering and may de-energize power lines on November 8, but PG&E failed to de-energize the lines despite the extreme fire risk.”

The complaint further alleges that a “witness states she contacted PG&E over a period of two years before the fire about sparks falling from the lines. The day before the fire started, she received an email from PG&E to the effect PG&E would be coming out to make repairs. That never happened.”

Trostle said the utility has shown a pattern of conduct of knowing a problem exists and failing to correct it, leading to the “horrific” deaths of dozens of people.

The retired police chief said he is pursuing legal action to hold to account PG&E and its employees in charge of creating and enforcing policies, in addition to compelling the utility to change or update its policies and procedures if needed.

Michael S. Feinberg, legal counsel to Trostle and Garrison, said PG&E — under red flag warning conditions — failed to properly respond to property owner complaints and internal information regarding a high-voltage transmission line that was “faulting and generating sparks” and capable of destroying Paradise and killing many residents.

“In addition,” Feinberg said, “PG&E lulled the community into a false sense of comfort and security by advising as early as three days prior to the fire that they would be shutting down their electrical system during the red flag conditions so that their power lines would not ignite a fire, and yet never followed through with the promise action of shutting off the flow of electricity under classic conditions for that action.”

Garrison, who recently retired as principal of Stanford Avenue Elementary School in Oroville, said a primary objective of her occupation was ensuring the safety of her school, students and staff.

“When safety is your objective,” she said, “it’s possible to create policies … to make sure the public is safe.”

Trostle and Garrison were out of town at the time the Camp Fire erupted and forced more than 50,000 residents to flee their homes along jammed roadways. At least 71 people died in the fire, some found burned in vehicles.

But while they were safe from the flames, their family, including adult children in their 30s, with families of their own, were in the fire’s path.

It was an “incredible feeling of helplessness,” Trostle said. Garrison added that she was receiving updates through her phone from her daughter, who described the town of Paradise becoming engulfed in flames and fireballs running in the roadways.

Trostle and Garrison said 25 members of their immediate and extended family survived but lost their homes and had their properties burned. The couple’s home was flattened by fire as well, and Trostle said two of their cats, Stella and Sterling, remained missing.

The town of Paradise and its community went through a “hellfire,” Trostle said, and PG&E cannot defer it or ignore it.

Andre Byik is the public safety reporter for the Chico Enterprise-Record, where he covers crime, courts and breaking news. A Chico State University graduate, he has worked at daily newspapers since 2012.